Braindead

Dead Alive (1992) * Weird & Wacky *

Recommendations: Inglourious Basterds (Quentin Tarantino, 2009), Requiem for a Dream, Dawn of the Dead

Dead-Alive

My first experience with Peter Jackson’s Dead-Alive was back in ‘94, just after the film had come out on VHS if I remember correctly. Being extremely excited to find Dead-Alive at the local video store, I convinced my two buddies that we had to check it out, telling them that it was the “goriest movie ever made” based off what I had read about the film. Seeing as I was the “horror guy,” they both bought into my plea and were very excited to see something that promised to be the sickest and grossest film ever witnessed by their anticipating eyes. I remember it so well, a small living room, on a tiny TV, we waited for the unrelenting gore fest to begin! We waited, and we waited, and we waited, and it never happened. Even at the 45 minute mark, we still had hopes for a Grande Finale of grue, but we were not granted one. I looked like a chump that couldn’t back up his knowledge, well, I felt that way at least. The VHS cover even claimed that it was the goriest film of all time, but that was not the case and I was ultimately super disappointed by Dead-Alive – a movie that I was so excited about for so long. 

Of course, I later discovered that I was duped into renting a version that was rated, as opposed to one that was unrated and alas, there was a second chance for Dead-Alive to drive me wild. I think that first viewing may have made my second viewing all the more better – I saw a film that had almost no gore, so anything would have been an upgrade. What I got with the unrated cut of Dead-Alive, was THE-goriest movie ever made, as stated on the VHS cover. That first watch lowered my expectations so much, that when I saw the real deal, I was blown away ten times more than if the first viewing had gone as planned. I hold Dead-Alive near and dear to my heart as a movie that makes me laugh, even without any scenes containing gore in them, but that finale, oh, that finale IS so Grande, that no other film has yet to top it in sheer volume and execution. Some people slag on it, but I will always love Dead-Alive for being a fun movie that did it bigger, better, and messier than anyone else.

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Recommendations: High Plains Drifter , Dalkomhan insaeng , Dial M for Murder

Braindead or Dead Alive

     I'm always looking for new, or new to me, zombie movies, so my Netflix queue is ripe with potentially disappointing, less than B-movie grade, suck fests.  I had slightly higher hopes, however, for one of Peter 'Nerd of the Rings' Jackson's early works, "Braindead" or "Dead Alive," as it is known in the US, and I was actually surprised at how bad a lot of this movie wasn't, and very surprised at how bad other parts were.
 
     Written and directed by Peter Jackson, "Dead Alive" is a lot of plot and the goriest, bloodiest, and sickest ending I have ever seen.  After watching this movie, I sincerely hope that Peter Jackson has since gotten some serious, psychiatric help. 
 
     "Dead Alive" is about a timid man, living with his (s)mother.  The mother gets bitten by the worst special effect in the entire movie, a stop motion, cursed, Sumatran rat-monkey, and she slowly degraded into an undead, zombie like creature.  She then kills her nurse and turns her into a zombie as well, and we are halfway through the movie with very little action and almost no zombies.  Another quarter of the way in, and we have three more zombies and an hint of the twisted depravity to come in the form of a newly born zombie baby, which is the product of zombie 'love.'  (Really Mr. Jackson, really?)  The last quarter is a non stop blood bath with unspeakable atrocities being committed upon zombie and human alike.
 
     Now, don't get me wrong.  I'm not opposed to a good blood bath, and I understand that we are not supposed to be taking this movie seriously.  Any time that a zombie's intestinal tract spills out on the bathroom floor, and then begins to pursue the main character, taking on a distinct, zombie persona of its own, I realize that this is not a serious horror movie.  The problem that I had with "Dead Alive," however, was that it seemed like every single kill, of any type, had to be unique.  The entire last quarter of this movie was almost like a neglected child, crying out for attention, and when he does not get any, he commits ever increasingly, disturbing acts in the hope that, surely, they won't be able to ignore this or, even worse, like there is no one there to control Peter Jackson's imagination and he is feeding on himself, trying to outdo every kill with the next kill, with no limit to just how depraved it might become.  There is no one to say, "Hey, maybe we shouldn't have the zombie explode and liquefy as it hits the ground" or "Hey, maybe they shouldn't keep kicking the upper half of that guy's head around" or even, "Hey, maybe we don't need to shred zombies in a lawnmower."  Once again, normally, I wouldn't have a problem with any one, or even some of what happens in the last quarter of "Dead Alive," however, with each zombie kill more gruesome and bloody than the previous ones, it rapidly reached a point where I had had enough, and Peter Jackson, it seems, was just getting warmed up.
 
     On a more positive note, I do have to give Mr. Jackson credit where credit is due.  For an extremely low budget, campy, gore-fest, the story is better than it should be, the characters are better than they should be, and the special effects, while completely disgusting, are better and more realistic than B-movies with much larger budgets.  Peter Jackson is a talented movie maker, and it shows in this early work.  (He's also one sick puppy.)
 
     Fans of disgusting splatter-fests and gore will want to see "Dead Alive" again and again.  Everyone else, I'd suggest you just skip it, or self medicate first.  (Don't do drugs, kids, and don't watch "Dead Alive.")

Brian
Ciné Critique Américain

Movie Review - Dead Alive

AKA Brain Dead

Before Peter Jackson was ever known to LOTR fans, before he ever graced the cinemas with big-budget, lush-landscaped, critically-lauded films, Jackson dabbled in a few horror films that have, in recent years, reached a cult status. Dead Alive is one of them (Bad Taste being the other), a horror comedy that is in direct opposition to anything that Peter Jackson has directed lately.

Dead Alive is ultra-violent, filled to bursting with dismembered body parts and gore. Yet Jackson manages to reign in the chaos of the film each time one of his more outrageous scenes breaks out, pulling the audience back into the ridiculous but involving story. Dead Alive's script will never be mistaken as horror genius; in fact, it's bare bones at minimum, but it knows its predecessors and is able to parody the zombie genre well by taking the more serious moments of films like Night of the Living Dead and simplifying them into hokey events.

The film starts out slow, creating a love story between Lionel (Timothy Balme) and Maria (Diana Peñalver) which forces the film into a bit of a rut. For one thing, Lionel is not exactly an exciting character; a fairly bland, rubber-necked young man who is under the authoritative demands of his mother, the audience barely has anything to root for in Lionel. There's another dilemma the audience is faced with in the first half hour - we know from the start of the film that Jackson can deliver on the promise of action-packed satirical horror and are eager to get to it faster than having to slog through the beginnings of a rather tiresome love story.

But Dead Alive picks up fast. After his mother is bitten by a noticeably clay-mation rat monkey, things go downhill fast for Lionel. He's stuck babysitting his zombie mother, who he keeps in the basement, while other members of the community are slowly turned to zombies. The decision to keep his mother is a smart one on Jackson's part; it allows for the plot to advance, obviously, but it gives a depth to the film that enhances the dramatic elements (for what they're worth) as well. This is not to mention that it puts Lionel in a bunch of awkward situations that are, frankly, hilarious.

The film has a ton of memorable sequences, most of which are funnier than most of the comedies I've seen in a long while. They're tasteless jokes and slapstick segments that pair very well with the excessive violence of the genre, and instead of crossing the line, the comedy remains relevant by mimicking the parts of horror that should be more offensive than they are.

For those who take movies more seriously, though, Dead Alive is outlandish fun that is focused more on parodying horror than creating a truly scary experience. The jokes might not appeal to those with a more sophisticated sense of humor, and in that case, the plot will leave a lot to be desired. But the chaos that flows throughout Dead Alive keeps the film... well, alive, and in my opinion, a more interesting movie-watching experience than Jackson's more serious output - it's the obvious enjoyment that exudes from the film that attracts and repulses.

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Last updated: 2010-01-17 03:58:03 by user01